Chapter 4 4

The woods grew thicker around them, the trees pressing in with an unnatural heaviness. Kiera struggled to keep up with Finn as he moved through the forest, his strides long and purposeful, as though he knew exactly where he was going. The air felt heavier, charged with an energy Kiera couldn't explain. It was more than the presence of the wolves; it was something in the earth itself, an ancient pull that tugged at her very soul.

Every step she took was filled with a mixture of dread and confusion. Finn had barely spoken since the pack retreated, his eyes never leaving the path ahead. Kiera wanted to ask him a thousand questions, but she couldn't form the words. It wasn't just fear that silenced her. It was the weight of his revelations-the bloodline, the guardians, the pack-and the terrifying thought that she was somehow at the center of it all.

A sharp crack of a branch breaking underfoot startled Kiera, and she glanced nervously over her shoulder. The forest felt alive in a way she had never experienced before. It wasn't just the wolves. There was something else, something older, watching them.

Finn finally stopped, turning to face her. His gaze was intense, his jaw clenched. "We need to get to the old cabin. It's the only place we'll be safe for now."

Kiera opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. The idea of safety was laughable. She had just come face to face with creatures out of a nightmare, and now Finn was talking about a cabin like it would somehow protect them. She was deep in the forest, alone with a man who might not even be entirely human, surrounded by wolves, and she was supposed to trust him?

"Are we safe there?" she finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "I mean, can we really be safe?"

Finn's expression softened, and for the first time, she saw a flicker of something like compassion in his eyes. "For now. But the pack won't stop. They'll come for you, Kiera. They know who you are."

She shook her head, her stomach twisting. "You keep saying that, but I don't understand. I'm just... me. I don't have some... some destiny to fulfill."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Finn's mouth, but it was laced with sorrow. "You might not believe it, but it's the truth. Your father tried to keep you away from it, tried to protect you, but now you're in it. There's no going back."

Kiera's head swam. She wasn't sure what frightened her more-the wolves, or the idea that she was somehow connected to them, that her very blood was tied to this nightmare. She tried to force the fear aside, to focus on the tangible things around her-the trees, the dirt under her feet-but the weight of what Finn had said was suffocating.

The howl from earlier echoed once again, louder this time. A chilling sound that seemed to reverberate through her bones. The pack was close.

"Let's move," Finn said urgently. His grip on her arm tightened, and he began pulling her forward again, more swiftly now. "We don't have much time."

They continued deeper into the forest, the dense underbrush slowing them down. Kiera's feet ached, her body beginning to feel the strain of the relentless pace Finn set. She was grateful for his hand on her arm, guiding her, but there was a strange pull in her chest that told her to stop-to turn around and run back the way they came. It was as though the forest itself was urging her to leave.

Despite the fear clenching her stomach, she fought the urge to break free from Finn's grip. He was the only guide she had in this madness, and if she was going to survive, she needed him to lead her.

Minutes later, the dense trees began to thin, and the forest opened up to a clearing. In the center stood a small, weathered cabin, its wooden walls moss-covered and darkened by years of neglect. The roof sagged in places, and the windows were cracked, giving it an almost haunted appearance. Yet there was something about it that felt... safe.

Finn released her arm and stepped toward the door. He paused for a moment, glancing around the clearing as if checking for signs of danger. Then, he reached for the door handle and pushed it open. The cabin creaked in protest, the heavy sound of rusted hinges echoing through the still night.

Kiera stepped inside hesitantly, her eyes adjusting to the dim light within. The air smelled musty, filled with the scent of old wood and dust, but there was a strange comfort in the solitude of the place. Her heart was still pounding, but in this small, forgotten cabin, the overwhelming weight of the forest seemed to lessen, just for a moment.

Finn closed the door behind them, sealing them inside. He turned to face her, his expression unreadable. "You're safe for now. But you can't stay here forever. The pack will be looking for you."

Kiera swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice steady. "What happens if they find me? What do they want from me?"

Finn's gaze softened again, though there was a hardness to his words. "They don't want you, Kiera. They want what you have inside of you. The power that runs through your blood."

Kiera shook her head, disbelief filling her. "Power? I'm just a normal girl. I don't have any kind of power. You've got it all wrong."

"No, I haven't," Finn replied firmly. "You're a Guardian, Kiera. The last of the Guardians. Your father hid it from you, but it's there, in you. The bloodline is what the pack has been waiting for."

A cold knot twisted in Kiera's stomach. "A Guardian? What does that even mean?"

Finn sighed, sitting down at a small wooden table in the center of the cabin. The faint light from a dying lantern illuminated his face, casting deep shadows across his features. "The Guardians were a line of protectors, chosen long ago to guard the wolves and keep their existence hidden from the human world. Your father was the last Guardian who held the title. And now... it's yours."

Kiera took a step back, her mind reeling. "You're telling me I'm supposed to protect werewolves?"

"They aren't just wolves, Kiera," Finn said softly. "They are a species as old as time itself. They were once human, but the curse of the wolf runs through their blood now. They have a power-strength, speed, immortality-that is unmatched. And they need someone like you to guide them, to protect them from the hunters."

"Hunters?" Kiera interrupted. "Who are the hunters?"

Finn's eyes darkened. "Hunters are people who know about the wolves. They hunt them for sport, for money, for power. They want to destroy what the pack represents-an ancient legacy. The pack doesn't just need protection from them. They need someone who can lead them, someone who can bring order to their chaos. And that person... is you."

The room spun around Kiera as she tried to process everything. Guardians. Werewolves. Hunters. It was too much-too much to take in. She felt like she was suffocating under the weight of it all.

"But I don't want this," she whispered. "I don't want any of it."

Finn looked at her, his gaze softening. "No one does. But it's who you are. You're a part of something much bigger than yourself, Kiera. And whether you accept it or not, it's your responsibility to lead them."

Kiera's mind flashed to the pack she had seen earlier-their glowing yellow eyes, their towering forms. The leader's words echoed in her mind: *The bloodline always calls.*

She had been thrust into a world of shadows and danger, and now there was no escaping it.

The howls returned again, this time closer, almost on top of them. Finn stood, his body tense. "They've found us."

Kiera's heart skipped a beat. "Who?"

"The pack," Finn said, his voice tight. "They're coming for you, Kiera. You have to decide now-are you going to run from this, or are you going to face what you are?"

Kiera's pulse throbbed in her ears, the world narrowing to the sound of her own breathing. She couldn't run anymore. She couldn't escape what she was. The pack was coming, and she had no choice but to face them.